Garmin Nuvi 780 Best Prices!
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Garmin Nuvi 780 Best Prices!.
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This is my first automobile GPS, and I did a lot of research before settling on the Garmin 780. I live in the Washington DC Metro state, so all of the extra features work here. Upon its arrival, I downloaded and installed the latest Garmin WebUpdater v.2.41 and then updated my 780 from software version 2.50 to 2.90. I also updated the Bluetooth and other firmware, along with the languages that I employ. This all worked flawlessly in a Windows XP virtual machine on a Linux host. FWIW, the 780 will charge off of the supplied USB cable.
The 780 acquired the distinguished satellites in impartial a few minutes when first activated, and does so in less than a shrimp for subsequent activations. I found the veil brightness to be pretty for both day and night. I'm using the 780 with the Garmin Portable Friction Mount. Smashing windows and stealing GPS devices is the sport of choice in the DC Metro dwelling, so I wanted no evidence of a GPS extant when I left the car. The friction mount works perfectly on my Honda Accord dashboard and stores easily in the center console, leaving no note of a GPS gradual. Very frigid. The 780 easily fits in a shirt pocket, so it's not vital to leave it in the car.
I tested the 780 immediately by driving during hurry hour to a spot across the river in a tangle of park roads off of the beaten track, then returning at night. The Garmin had no distress creating a very speedy route to the destination that bypassed most of the heavy traffic during urge hour. On my return, I bypassed a turn on its preferred routing. It recalculated a current route in less than a second which was the accurate upright reply. The current route wasn't a recapture of the novel route, which wasn't possible from that set, but an entirely unique route. The routes it picked were appropriate for the times of day traveled, which can be a daunting task here if you don't know which roads go which direction during the appropriate bustle hour. DC is a notoriously difficult state to navigate, but so far the Garmin seems up to the challenge.
I found the volume of the internal speaker to be more than adequate even with the radio, air conditioning, and windshield wipers going. Grunt notifications led upcoming turns by an adequate amount, and the command prompts always helped me salvage into the just lanes in plenty of time for upcoming turns. During a particularly tricky share where several major roads converge on a bridge, then diverge on the other side, the Garmin gave almost constant appropriate guidance to ensure that I took the upright forks and turns. I was quite impressed.
The Bluetooth paired snappy with my Motorola Razr V3. It even provided its PIN code at the appropriate time. The phone functions work colossal and it's easy to hear over the 780 speaker. The party on the other side of the phone said that I sounded like I was in a tunnel, which is typical for remote devices for autos. I have another BT hands-free procedure and it garnered the same comments. The Garmin's on-screen phone cues originate hands-free easy.
Activation of the MSN Drawl service was simple over the Salvage. On initial activation of your free 3 month trial, they offer a 6-month extension for $9.95 which gets you to 9 months of service total for less than $10--a very honorable deal. MSN Instruct information took a while to load the initial information, but then it said that in the Hastily Launch pamphlet. Once loaded, the traffic, weather, and news worked mountainous. Gas prices were slow by several days, which is an eternity these days. My approved (and cheapest) state wasn't listed.
Overall, I'm very elated with the 780. I'll be working it out heavily in the coming weeks, including on a road inch to another city with MSN Divulge service. I can't contain that I waited this long to capture the descend to a GPS way for my car. Even though I'm a master with maps, the Garmin suggested a clever routing that I did not previously behold on my fill. From what I've seen so far, the 780 will be a highly valued addition to my road warrior kit bag. I can recommend the 780 without reservation.
I purchased a Sony NAVU-83T, a Garmin 680, and a Garmin 780 to compare their features and routing capability. I kept the 780 and returned the others, but it was a very difficult decision.
The Sony unit [...] at Costco, and has a 4.8" conceal (1/2" larger!) . It has one of the best user interfaces on the market, primarily due to a few things: 1) you can always win aid to the plan by pressing one button, regardless of where you are, 2) you can always fetch to the main menu by pressing one button, regardless of where you are in the menus, 3) it has a split mask function that gives you lane guidance visually so that you know which lane to score into, well before the turn, 4) it has shortcuts, for instance to GO HOME you produce a V shape on the cloak and it takes you home...no menu navigation required!
On the down side, the Sony took FOREVER to calculate or re-calculate routes, and in many cases I missed the newly recalculated turn because it took too long to figure it out. It also took longer routes than the Garmin, would avoid commonly conventional roads for no apparent reason, and would not capture me down roads that were shown on the blueprint and clearly the shortest route. Last of all, the Sony took forever to collect a satellite fix once turned on. And the Sony mount was soooo very icy and useful! For $249 you got the chilly mount and a nice carrying case. I did not gain a chance to spend the TMC traffic service.
The Garmin 680 ($349 at Costco) was a gorgeous draw, with very quick and honest routing. It found points of interest rapidly and accurately (the Sony often could not accumulate them) . However, I really liked the thin size of the 780 and the fact that the antennae was built in, so I kept the 780 in spite of the extra cost.
What do I like about the 780 (and the 680) :
1. The MSN Mutter is VERY handy and I consume it every day for weather, news, fuel costs, and movie listings.
2. Very hastily route calculations.
3. I have never looked for a POI that was not show.
4. The tour routes that you can download (for about $12 each) are chilly. You can remove car tours of a few hours that are laid out for you, telling you where to visit along the route.
5. The ability to sort points along a route is handy. If you have 10 places to go in one day, enter them all in and it puts them in the most efficient order.
6. It can earn rest areas on interstates. The Sony could NOT do this, which is annoying when you are trying to figure out if you should conclude at a gas dwelling or wait for a rest situation when you have three kids in the car on long lope.
What would I change on the 780? Many things, and most of them would cost Garmin no money to implement. These are simple fixes that they should reflect!
Bad Points of the Garmin 780:
1. If I go into the menu system, I can go 7 or 8 layers deep to collect to what I want to do. To collect succor to the method, I have to sustain pushing the "Benefit" button, up to 8 times in a row, to fetch wait on to the plot. Slow!
2. If I go into a menu item and resolve I'm done, but don't want to push "Succor" over and over, the unit stays on the menu or submenu veil forever.
3. It would seem that on a unit this expensive it could give you lane guidance. The Sony does. The Tom Tom does. Why can't this unit, at almost double the cost?
4. When you turn off the car the unit asks if it should conclude on or turn off. If you don't retort, it turns off in 30 seconds. For people who are making deliveries, or running errands, this is a steady injure. It would be nice to allow you to configure this once to region how long it should wait before turning the unit off (options like 1 exiguous, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, for instance) . This would allow you to hurry into Kinkos and serve out again without having to wait for the unit to turn relieve on, earn a satellite bearing, and then finally salvage to its scheme to stammer you where to go next. Simple software change!
5. It would be nice to have the unit inaugurate up on the same mask where you left off. If you were on the plan mask, then it should return to the blueprint shroud. If on the weather veil, then return to the weather. I like to preserve it on the weather, but I have to hit about 6 different buttons every time I turn the unit on to catch to the weather! Simple software change!
6. Most GPS units even at half this cost allow you to Watch your hurry, direction, and target's relative direction while on the main diagram conceal. This unit requires you to go to a dashboard camouflage to display you this information....so you have to settle the contrivance or the dashboard to belief. Since some people may not like this feature, it could be configurable. Simple software change!
7. I can't seem to figure out how to demonstrate the satellite signals/connectivity. ALL units have this, even though it is fair for fun.
8. For $500 the Garmin should include a carry case for the unit. They sell it tiny size, light weight, and its "ability to know where you were when you recall it out of the cradle, to back you derive your car later", and yet don't give you scheme to carry it around safely. Impartial about every unit on the market, starting at the $149 units, include a case!
9. The 780 does NOT include an owners manual. You have to go online to understanding the manual, at garmin.com. Garmin may be surprised to know that not everyone has the internet (50% of homes don't) . Although not perfect, the Sony included a fairly comprehensive launch up guide and a CD based owners manual.
10. The demonstrate looks like a cartoon movie, and that causes a lack of detail. The Sony displayed a very concise plan where you could actually identify road splits, acceleration lanes, etc.
11. There is no ability to display POIs on the blueprint. You can route to one, but you can't impartial exhibit them. The Sony allowed you to catch which POIs to note, and it actually showed you cramped BP, Shell, Cracker Barrel, etc. logos on the procedure so that you could know well ahead of time which POIs were approach you.
12. Many units whisper you how far to your next turn AND the direction you will be turning in. The Garmin tells you how far to the next turn, but it does not inform you which draw to turn until you acquire within about 2/10 of a mile. So on most multi-lane roads I gather myself staying in the middle lane as I come by cessation so that I can go either blueprint. It should warn you which intention you will be turning at least a few miles in arrive! As soon as you glean onto any road the Sony tells you that your next turn is "LEFT 123 MILES", and it is always displayed on the main procedure. Handy. Simple software change!
I like the unit, but I only give it 3 stars because of its label, its lack of favorite sense features, and lack of "in the box" benefit. It's strong points are quick, right routing and MSN affirm.
I did a lot of research before I changed from my conventional Garmin c340. I judge I made an pleasurable choice, this GPS has everything and more. I was fresh to traffic so I first tried the TomTom 920T which I didn't like because of how innacurate the maps were so then I turned to Garmin and I was joyful again, with the addition of news, stocks and events for the MSN hiss 2 version is titanic. I read the news once in a while is unbiased a monotonous summary of what is happening not remarkable with no pictures or anything but hey at least it gives you something else on the GPS to do. I obtain the mp3 functionality mammoth the sound is loud enough unbiased don't do it all the blueprint to 100% volume because you'll hear static. The FM transmitter is one of the best I found on a GPS and the describe feature is vast I even save it in my room as an LCD hide for pictures hehehe. This GPS gives you all the directions you need ravishing right, MSN traffic needs to improve on this, its usually delayed most of the time it tells me traffic is there but then I derive no traffic why? I don't know but I can say that is probably 80% fair on other traffic updates. I really like this product and I am more than delighted with this item, it is now a lot cheaper than what I bought it for which was $700, so do yourself a favor if you want an correct, nice looking, swiftly GPS signal, vast feature GPS fetch this one, I recommend it.
